Meditation and Enlightenment: How to Discover Who You Truly Are!

Some believe that religion is all hokey. Some do not join a religion because they do not want to be told what they can and cannot do, while others do not believe that there is truly some divine being up there pulling all the strings. Buddhism is neither of these. Buddhism is a guidebook to life. You do not have to follow the rules, but if you do, you will find yourself understanding who you truly are, which means you can attain true enlightenment.

1) What is Enlightenment?

Enlightenment is that wonderful place where you suddenly understand the truth about life. It is generally attained by a strict Buddhist who has been meditating for a long time.

Some who have achieved enlightenment say that they can see their past lives; others claim the ability to see the future. Fortunately, you do not have to be a strict Buddhist in order to find your own form of awakening or enlightenment. You just have to be open to new experiences.

2) Meditation

The primary means to attaining an awakening, or understanding more about who you are and what you want out of life, is to meditate.

Meditation is a relatively simple concept in which you sit in a specific position on the floor. This position is generally achieved by putting each foot on top of the other thigh with your knees touching the ground. You lie your hands gently on your lap and sit up straight.

Some people close their eyes, but most keep their eyes open a small amount so that they do not fall asleep. You then focus on nothing. Yes, on nothing!

This does NOT mean that you get lazy, or that you blur out your consciousness! What you are really trying to do, however, is to empty your mind and allow it to wander so that it can be OPEN to receiving information about yourself. It is a process of surrendering, surrendering and open yourself out to THAT mystery.

If you relax your mind, you can discover who you truly are and what you want out of life. Most people find it difficult to meditate the first time. One trick to try is to count your breaths.

Inhaling and exhaling once each is considered one breath. Breathe in again, and when you breathe out, count that as your second breath. Continue this pattern until you reach 10 breaths and then start over again. If a thought pops into your head, acknowledge it and then dismiss it.

When I first tried to meditate, I had a very difficult time. I remember the first thought that popped into my head was - I have got laundry to do!

The next thought was - I am supposed to be thinking about nothing!

This can turn into a vicious cycle if you let it, so you have to be willing to acknowledge the thought and then let it pass like a stray cloud across a blue sky.

Once you get the gist of meditating, try doing it for longer and longer periods. A friend of mine, John, can meditate for more than an hour. I am not able to do it for that long, but John has conditioned his body to be able to handle the position and not fall asleep.

He says that he achieves the most peace in his life when he is meditating. I know how he feels. When I meditate, it is like the world has slipped away. Like all the stress of the day just floats away on that stray cloud. When I come out of my meditative trance, I am able to focus on what I need to get done much more easily.

3) Sex for an Awakening?

In French, an orgasm is known as la petite mort, or - a little death. I am sure we all know that a good orgasm can cure almost any ailment, from a headache to alleviating stress from your life. There is so much more to sex than an orgasm, though.

When you are having sex with your lover, you are focused on them and on yourself. Other than meditating, sex is one of the only times that you focus so wholly on yourself. Raise it up by focusing on every touch and every breath. Surrender yourself to even the slightest movement and you will find that your senses are heightened, which allows you to relax your mind. Afterward, you will be able to focus on your life and on who you truly are, much like you can after a long meditation session.

Whether you chose to meditate to reach an awakening or to surrender yourself in sex does not really matter. What does matter is that you discover who you truly are, because only when you know who you are can you find true happiness.